Charles W. Stenholm: “it is difficult not to be discouraged by this debate today. Why in the world are we wasting time debating a meaningless…”

“it is difficult not to be discouraged by this debate today. Why in the world are we wasting time debating a meaningless one-sided resolution which has little or no value other than seeking political points? I must clarify several points. First, those of us who were gagged by the closed rule today are not interested in letting the President off of the hook. We wanted to include every single requirement on the President, even though he had already met his legal responsibilities that the majority created. We simply wanted to demand the same sort of responsible behavior from the Congress. We were denied an opportunity to debate our amendment. Second, the last-minute provision added by this resolution's sponsors does not set the same requirement on Congress. It does not set a deadline for action. It does not acknowledge Congress's constitutional and statutory responsibilities. It does not reference, in an equal manner to the President's budget, the shortcomings or the outright absence of the Republican budget efforts. It is a false statement to make on the House floor that the resolution creates the exact same standard for Congress as it does for the President. Americans are tired of us making unfulfilled promises about balancing our budget and trying to place the blame on the other side. The public wants us to roll up our sleeves and just do it.”